@SFGate/Columbus sidewalks: HORRAY! My wife and I walk this all the time and comment on how difficult it is to even walk single file on those sidewalks. There is NO reason that bundreds of people are hemmed into 4-6ft of sidwalk while a couple people can park their cars (for cheap mind you) right next to it.

Also, the dissenting voice was from a store my wife and I just went into the other day. We plan on going to talk to her about the benefits of widening the sidewalks at the expense of a few parking spots. Yes, you lose 8 cars (maybe 8-20 people), but you make the experience of 500 people that much more appealing. And if those 500 people are more comfortable, instead of worrying about running into someone/something, then the odds they’ll look up see your store are much greater.

@North Beach sidewalk conversion. 95% of the SFGates comments are against it. The funniest ones are about the “fat cat” cafe owners having their “palms greased”. It’s hilarious. If it’s not the elite government types killing small business, it’s small business killing….other small business?